Just Like You

Just Like You by Nick Hornby
Reviewed by Omma
📕📗📘

So if you caught our @skyarts Book Club Live performance, you’ll know that this was one of the books we were given to review, and right off the bat, I was disappointed. I thought it would be a cute romantic read but it fell flat for me.

It’s described as a comedy but instead, there were a few awkward moments that I didn’t find funny at all.

None of the characters seemed believable especially Joseph. He’s a young Black boy from North London but apart from two instances, you wouldn’t have been able to tell at all even though being young and Black seem to be the main reasons for the differences between him and Lucy, the 42-year-old white woman he is seeing.

This annoyed me because he’s supposed to be your average Black guy but his Blackness seemed like an afterthought.

I also didn’t like Lucy. Her traumatic past relationship didn’t seem to have much impact on her and I didn’t find myself bothered about her.

I wouldn’t really say it’s a bad book since it was an easy read, well written, and helped get me out of my reading slump but I wouldn’t particularly recommend it. If you already have it on your shelves and want something light then go for it but you’re not missing out if you don’t.

Having said that, I’d be interested to read Hornby’s other books which have received higher praise!